Educator Seen as Favorite to Succeed Palestinian Premier

Published: November 14, 2006

Palestinian negotiators said Monday that they were penciling in the names to lead a new government. They met over the weekend and again on Monday in their effort to unite the divided factions and restart the badly needed flow of foreign aid.

Officials for both Hamas and Fatah say privately that there is general agreement on a replacement for Prime Minister Ismail Haniya of Hamas: Mohammad Shbair, 60, who was president of the Islamic University in Gaza City for 12 years before his retirement last year.

The names, if tentative, appeared to be a sign of progress in talks to form a national unity government of professionals and technocrats. But leaders of Hamas, the militant group that would cede direct control of the government, and its rival Fatah, cautioned Monday that some of the toughest issues remain unresolved and that much work remained before a final deal. The talks have dragged on since the summer.

The aid was cut off after Hamas won legislative elections in January and took control of the government in March. Even if the Palestinians manage to form a new government, it is far from clear that they can make the concessions necessary for Israel, the United States and Europe to resume aid and other financing.

''We do not want to give the agenda to our people piece by piece,'' Mr. Haniya, who has declared his intention to resign soon, told reporters in Gaza City on Monday. ''We want to give them an entire program all at once.''

Mr. Haniya has said that he believes that it will be two or three weeks before a final deal is reached. But the names being put forward have leaked out, and in a possible sign of Palestinians' desire to press their case with the outside world, all three candidates for top jobs have studied in the United States.

The planners of a unity government have said that it would be made up of people without direct ties to any faction. Mr. Shbair, who earned a doctorate in microbiology from West Virginia University, is not a member of Hamas, though the university he led has close ties with the group.

Other candidates for top jobs surfaced Monday after a second day of talks. For foreign minister, negotiators have mentioned Ziad Abu Amr, 56, a professor and independent lawmaker who was backed by Hamas in the parliamentary elections in January, though he has opposed suicide bombings and supports concessions with Israel. He holds a doctorate in political science from Georgetown University.

For finance minister, negotiators have mentioned Salam Fayyad, 54, an economist who had served from 2002 to 2006 as the finance minister for the Palestinian Authority. He earned a doctorate in economics from the University of Texas.

But many issues remain. Other deals have fallen through, and negotiators caution that any names are contingent on resolving the toughest questions. Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president and Fatah leader, is visiting Jordan, but is scheduled to go to Gaza by the end of the week for higher-level talks.

In Israel, there is much skepticism about the possibility of a new government. The program the new government will embrace is more important than individual names, officials say.

Specifically, the question is whether the Palestinians will meet three conditions set by Israel and foreign donors for a resumption of funds: that the new government recognize Israel's right to exist, that it renounce violence and that it accept previous Israeli-Palestinian agreements that imply a two-state solution.

A senior Israeli military official, speaking anonymously because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said any new government would be ''Hamas lite,'' in that Hamas would still hold the majority in the Palestinian Parliament and could exert a veto on any decisions. In recent days, even as negotiations went on, Hamas leaders have said the group would not compromise on its basic principles, including not recognizing Israel.

The Israeli military official said: ''Even if there will be a government, we do not think it will change the fact that Hamas still will be the leading political power. It still controls the Parliament, and it still has control on the ground.''

But the Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, who met with President Bush on Monday, told a Palestinian newspaper, Al Quds, that he could negotiate with Hamas if it did accept the three conditions, specified by the so-called quartet guiding the stalled peace efforts -- the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations.

''If Hamas accepts the quartet conditions, I will sit down with them,'' Mr. Olmert was quoted as saying.